Миграционни процеси в България през отминалите столетия
Migration Processes in Bulgaria in the Past Centuries

Summary/Abstract: A brief overview is given of the historical circumstances of spa-cial movement of Bulgarian people since the foundation of the state in 681 A.D. A stress is laid upon the Mediaeval Ages when Bulgaria was invaded and remained under the rule of the Ottoman Empire for about five centuries. Those were times of a kind of colonisation and Turkish people were resettled, occupying the best Bulgarian lands and settlements. The majority of Bulgarians moved to the mountainous areas and outside Bulgarian lands. By the time the country was liberated in 1878, the internal migration accelerated and then the Bulgarian people came back to the fertile valleys and the towns. The emigration flows also brought thousands of Bulgarians back from abroad. Then Turkish population of about one million left the country in the course of several decades. Another large period 1900-1944 is noticeable for its high urbanisation rate and the moderate emigration of Bulgarians, it was provoked by mainly by economical and, to some extent, political reasons. Most striking was the large immigration flow of Bulgarian refugees from neighbouring countries due to the war consequences of the Balkan peninsula. So, the positive net migration and the natural increase above reproductive level determined the moderate but stable population growth. The lack of internal migration flow and the decrease in fertility since the 50s result in a completely different population reproductive pattern. In the 90s for the first time in Bulgarian history low fertility rate was combined with abnormal emigration rate of Bulgarians. The size of the population in 2000 dropped to the 1963 level of 8,1 million and is to decrease to 6,5 million by 2025.

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